Sails in the Sky
by Ang3l S0ng
Summary: The story of the three brothers plus one. Sora, younger sister of Sabo, finally escaped her parents. Following in her brothers footsteps she hides out in Grey Terminal in hopes of finding her brother. She instead meets an energetic rubber boy. What adventures will this meeting spark? Will Sora ever be reunited with her brother? LuffyxOC. Testing an idea, would like feedback please!
1. Searching

**Hey everyone! So, this idea has been rolling around in my head for awhile and I finally decided to write it. I just want to see how this will go over. Before I get asked, yes this is a LuffyxOC story! I can say now that a lot of my stories probably will be. Well, please enjoy and let me know if this is something worth ****continuing. I know it's only the first chapter, and it's kind of hard to judge by this but I'll post a second chapter soon and we'll see from there. But anyway, I don't own One Piece. **

Sails in the Sky

Chapter 1

Searching

"Where did she go!?"

"Find her!"

"I think she went this way!"

The shouts echoed down the alley, reaching the hidden girl as nothing but unintelligible commands. She ducked down further into the dark corner and pushed her back up closely to the wall. Thumps of feet faded away from the entrance of the alley but the little girl didn't dare to move. If she got caught now than they would take her back to her parents. That was the last place she wanted to go.

Sighing quietly in exhaustion the girl pushed her messy blonde hair out of her face. She glared at the strands. Her hair had always been too long for her liking. Every time she asked her mother to cut it shorter she got the same reply, "Rich men love woman with long blonde hair dear." She never really understood why a man would love someone with hair that's so long you accidently pull it every time you sit down. Besides, she was only six, she hardly thought that counted as being a woman.

Adults were weird.

Assuming the coast was clear by now, the girl stood up and sauntered over to the alley's entrance. A quick peek around the corner proved that none of the men after her were in sight.

The girl grinned in triumph. Finally she could get out of this stupid city!

Without hesitation she bolted through the streets not caring that the people she passed looked at her with disgusted or that they pulled their children away from her like she was disease ridden. The only thing she was focused on was the gate up ahead.

To her, this gate led to a whole new world. A world where the people fought through garbage and stunk of dirt and waste. A world where no one cared how others looked. A world where no one was afraid to get dirty.

A world where everyone was free.

The whole idea made her giddy and excited. She had never known a world like that. The only thing she knew was from the stories her brother told her.

The thought of the only family member she actually cared about made her double her speed. Her brother used to tell her stories at night to help her sleep after another day of neglect from their parents. He told her stories of a place that sounded horrid and scary and disgusting yet beautiful and amazing at the same time.

Her brother was brave enough to sneak out and go to this mysterious place, only to return with a new story and a big smile.

But one day, he never came home.

She knew he had good reason. Her brother would never leave her alone otherwise. She figured that he wasn't able to come get her, so she would have to go to him.

It was her turn to be brave and the first step was passing that gate.

Luckily for her, people from outside the wall were coming in with tradable goods, meaning the guards would be to distracted to notice a tiny six year old leaving the city.

And right she was as it was almost too easy to slip passed the city guards as they approached a wagon to inspect its contents.

When she was finally at a safe distance away from anyone who would drag her back she stopped. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in complete awe.

Garbage was piled in mountains as far as the eye could see. Men scrounged through the unwanted junk to find anything of value. The smell was so much worse than her brother's stories that it almost made her gag.

Nothing had ever looked so appealing to her before in her life.

This was freedom.

Not living in some big shiny house with servants lurking in every corner.

Her heart thumped with energy, trying desperately to soak it all in. She was just too happy! Now there was only one thing left to do. It was time to find her brother.

With a determined grin she set out. Honestly, she had no idea where to start. Everything was completely different here. With a slight hum she decided to look all over the heaps of trash first and maybe ask some of the people if they had seen her brother.

Okay, so maybe asking people wasn't the greatest idea. In the time it took her to search every square inch of the dump she had witnessed three murders, twelve stabbings, twenty robberies and what she assumed could have been a kidnapping.

But this wasn't what scared her the most.

She had yet to find any sign of her brother and she could feel fear grip her heart. Doubt flooded her mind as she wandered between two large pieces of discarded metal. What if her brother wasn't here? What if she really was all alone?

The tears were welling up in her eyes at the prospect that she might never see her brother again and she chocked back a sob.

Flopping down dejectedly she buried her face in her knees, curling into a tight ball.

What was she going to do? She couldn't go back home and she had no idea where her brother was. None of these people seemed very willing to help, not without a payment of some kind, and she had no money.

Her stomach groaned loudly.

And she was hungry.

The sound of shifting metal beside her caused her to jump. She half expected to get stabbed in the back by one of the creepy men she'd seen earlier but when she looked up she came face to face with an upside down boy. He seemed to be hanging by his feet from a metal pole that jutted out from a nearby pile.

There was a short silence as the children inspected each other.

The boy had silky locks of raven hair half hidden by a too-large straw hat that dangled from a string around his neck and dark owlish eyes that stared at her curiously. Under his left eye was a thin curved scar that seemed to complement his facial features. He didn't look much older than her.

The boy crossed his arms and tilted his head. She mimicked the action, intrigued by this upside down person. This was the first child she'd seen so far.

The boy looked the little blonde girl up and down. Her eyes were a bright blue that reminded him greatly of the ocean and they stared back at him with wonder. She wore a cream coloured dress that was smudged with dirt and grim but she still managed to look pretty despite this.

His mind backtracked for a moment. He had never used the word 'pretty' to describe a person before, but now that he thought about it, there really wasn't any other word that fit right.

"Why were you crying?" The boy asked. The girl puffed out her cheeks irritably.

"I wasn't crying!"

The boy wasn't convinced and he hoped down from the pole, just barely managing to land on his feet. "Yes, you were." He said after regaining his balance. "Your eyes are all red and puffy." He poked her cheek just under her eye, trying to emphasize his point.

She batted his hand away and pouted, burying her face between her knees again. The boy blinked at her, not understanding why she didn't answer his question. He tipped his head trying to see around her knees. Every time he just caught a glimpse of her face, she would turn and hide again. It quickly became a sort of game for him to find out where he could see her face from next and he swore he heard her giggle every time he guessed correctly and would catch her gaze.

Eventually the girl peeked out from behind her knees and faced the boy. He was glad to see her eyes no longer had tears in them. "What's your name?" She asked almost shyly. She was new at meeting people. Normally her mother introduced her when they had guests. Apparently she did something right because the boy lit up with a massive smile.

She couldn't help but let out a quiet gasp at the happiness that shined in his eyes and reflected off that smile. It warmed her heart to know that the smile was directed at her, and it wasn't forced or devious or hiding secret meanings. It was pure.

"Monkey D. Luffy! Who're you?"

She smiled back at him and sat up straighter, unfolding herself to sit cross-legged. "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you Luffy!" They shook hands eagerly.

After a short silence Luffy decided to try asking his question again, now that the girl, Sora, seemed happier. "So why were you crying?"

Her smile faded slightly. While Sora didn't feel scared any more, now that Luffy was here, she was still missing her brother greatly. "I was just lonely."

Luffy frowned at the all too familiar word. He knew what it was like to be alone, despite growing up in a peaceful town, the only people he had were Makino and his grandpa. But both were always busy and they couldn't come play with him. Garp wasn't even there half the time (Which was probably a good thing). Of course, there was the mayor and the other children but the mayor had to run the town and the children were scared of him, though some pretended they weren't.

At times when Luffy would have to sit alone in the rooms above the bar or at the docks watching the ocean, he often wished he had someone to hug him and tell him it was okay, that they would be there for him.

And now, seeing his new found friend with a look of loneliness in her eyes, he wouldn't deprive her of that.

Luffy scooched to sit beside her and wrapped his small arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. Sora was shocked for a moment before she hugged his middle and tried not to cry. "You don't have to be alone. I'm here now! So don't worry, okay?" Luffy encouraged.

Sora could only manage a small nod against his shoulder. Just when she opened her mouth to thank him, her stomach let out a large gurgle. They both pulled away and looked at her stomach then at each other. Luffy's stomach decided to mimic the sound and let out its own gurgle.

The two broke out in laughter. Luffy jumped up and grabbed her hand. "Let's get something to eat!"

Sora followed Luffy, rather curious to find out how people got food around here. She hadn't seen any restaurants. Actually, she hadn't seen any buildings at all really. Only little make shift shacks. So wherever Luffy was leading here, it wasn't in this area.

As they walked Luffy didn't let go of her hand, keeping it firmly in his. Sora was thankful for this, without the support she probably would have fallen on her face multiple times as they climbed through the trash. Not long after, a tree line came into view and Sora gasped.

"Is this where we're going?" She asked, hoping that he would say yes.

Luffy looked at her quizzically not understanding why she seemed so excited about a forest. Hadn't she seen tree's before? He pushed the thought away and beamed at her. "Yep! I'm in the mood for some crocodile!"

They reached the forest and continued on. Sora was running everywhere and exploring, Luffy right on her trail. The raven haired boy was all too eager to show her all his favourite insects when he found out she didn't cower away and scream "Ewww, get it away! Get it away!" but actually showed just as much interest in them as he did.

He picked up a large beetle and held it out for her. Without hesitation Sora put her hand out flat for him to set it on. The beetle's legs tickled her palm as it lazily crawled. "What's this one called?" She asked.

Luffy put his face close to the beetle to look at its large eyes. "This one's a Hercules Beetle. They're really fast!" Luffy exclaimed gesturing with his hands. "Hey! Let's find another one and then they can fight!"

Sora laughed. "But what about food? Shouldn't we eat first?"

Luffy pondered this for a moment before grinning. "Right! We'll do Beetle Battles later. Come on, I know where the best crocodiles are."

Sora had just enough time to set the beetle on the ground before she was once again being dragged away by an excited Luffy. As the boy told her all about the forest and his favourite spots, Sora was feeling happier than she ever had in her life. She had her first real friend and she never had to return to that stupid city. Sora wanted to live here for the rest of her life.

It wasn't long before they came across a river. Luffy led Sora over to a rock and gently sat her down on it. "Sit right here! I wanna show you something cool!"

Excited to see what else her friend had in store for her she sat with a grin. When Luffy turned to the river she secretly inched a little bit closer.

The straw hatted boy picked up a good sized rock from the bank and hurtled it into the water with all his might. There was a pregnant pause before a massive crocodile burst from the river and snarled angrily at the children. Sora gasped and almost fell backwards off the rock. She had read plenty about crocodiles in the books at home but she didn't think they could get this big!

Luffy giggled and put a hand on his bicep, cocking his fist back and spinning it around unnaturally. This caught Sora's attention and she tore her eyes off of the looming danger, finding whatever the raven haired boy was doing to be much more interesting.

Suddenly Luffy's fist shot out and when Sora expected it to stop uselessly in front of him, it kept going. And going. The blonde stared in amazement as his arm _stretched _and clipped the crocodile's right temple hitting it hard enough to knock it off balance and it crashed back into the water.

Luffy's arm snapped back to a normal length but the recoil sent him sprawling. They sat in silence for a moment both too shocked to say anything.

"COOL!" Sora yelled jumping up and squealing with excitement.

Luffy jumped up and cheered as well but for a much different reason. "I HIT IT! On the first try!" He threw his fists up in the air and jumped around with Sora yelling and screaming in pure joy. Both children shared looks of excitement.

"How'd you do that!? You just went like BAM! And it was down! You're so awesome!" Sora asked making a punching motion at the air then throwing her hands above her head to emphasize just how awesome her friend was.

Luffy laughed and stretched one of his fingers to demonstrate. "I'm made of rubber!"

Sora, completely in awe, grabbed his hand and ran in the opposite direction. When she looked back his hadn't moved but his arm just kept stretching. She grinned and let go of his hand, it whipped through the air and knocked the boy off his feet. He hit the ground with a grunt and rolled a ways before sitting up and pouting at her. "Oi!"

She laughed gleefully, clutching her stomach. Luffy soon joined her.

After they calmed down they managed to drag the monstrous croc up onto the bank and they built a fire. Luffy taught her how to light it without matches and he showed her how to cook the meat. Sora was learning a lot in her time out of the city. More so then she had ever learned from dusty old books.

Luffy handed her a piece of cooked meet and grabbed one of his own (which was noticeably larger) and took a seat across from her. "You're ma 'ood luck sharm." The boy declared around a mouthful of meat. Sora blinked at him and tipped her head to the side, not understanding what he meant.

"I've never been able to hit anything on the first try! And this was the first time I took out a crocodile by myself!" Luffy explained after he swallowed. "So you must be my good luck charm!"

Sora grinned. She liked the sound of that. Looking down at the hunk of meat in her hand she took a hesitant bite of it, never having tried crocodile before. Her eyes widened and she took a larger bite. Luffy looked up from his third piece of meat, noticing her speed up and finish her first one in a time that could rival his.

She looked over at the rest of the crocodile with a hungry glint in her eye. Luffy noticed this as well and narrowed his eyes. In unison they both vaulted towards the pile, kicking and punching and stealing and laughing.

Sora finally felt free.

**There you have it! Not much to go off of, but opinions would be greatly appreciated. Try and keep the flames to a minimum if possible... I also have never written anything from the point of view of kids before and I'm trying to keep it childish without skimping on the quality, sorry if I didn't do too well in that aspect. **

**- Ang3l **


	2. A New Home

**Sorry for this being so short, it's kind of just a filler (and I have some important-ish stuff to talk about). I also hope I portrayed Ace and Sabo alright. Okay so! I had a reviewer suggest that I put set dates for when the next chapters will come out and now that I have two stories on the go I think that's a great idea. I currently have really bad writers block when it comes to Falling Into Place and I am trying everything to get rid of it. I probably won't be able to update that until next week. Um... I can't remember what else there was... **

**Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed! You all seemed to like this story so I plan to continue it. I don't really no where its going to go but I'll probably have Sora join Luffy on his adventures at sea when they're older, only if people stick with this for that long.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

A New Home

After Luffy and Sora finished their meal they both noticed the darkening skies. Reluctant to leave his new friend, Luffy slowly stood up and dusted off his pants. He frowned sadly turning to the blonde girl. "I should probably get home."

Sora stood as well and forced a small smile. She really didn't want Luffy to leave. What was she going to do? Where was she going to sleep tonight? Despite her worries she only nodded at the boy.

They stood in silence, staring at their feet as they shuffled their toes in the dirt, neither one wanting to walk away first. Luffy brightened up suddenly. "Will you play with me tomorrow? We can have that Beetle Battle!"

Sora's smile turned genuine at the thought. "Yeah!"

"Alright! We'll meet here at noon tomorrow!"

With a high-five they sealed the deal and waved goodbye, both heading their separate ways with large smiles.

%##%

Luffy ran all the way back to the hideout in order to wear off some of the energy that seemed to pump through him. He had the best day of his life today! Not only did he meet a new friend but he also took out his first crocodile. All the training must be paying off!

By the time the hideout came into sight Luffy was buzzing with excitement for the coming day. He had a list of things running through his head that he and Sora could do tomorrow. But first, he had to tell Ace and Sabo all about his day.

With practiced ease, Luffy clambered up the hideouts ladder. He giggled as he entered his home, thinking about how jealous Ace was going to be now that he could hunt by himself. "Oi! Ace! Sa-" The straw hatted boy was suddenly punched in the head causing him to face plant into the floor. "Ow…" He whined clutching what was sure to be a new bruise.

"Tch, idiot! Where the hell have you been all day? We sent you for supplies hours ago!"

Luffy pouted at his older brother. Ace glared down at him with his arms crossed sternly. He wore a simple dark grey muscle shirt and black shorts with his normal pair of shoes. His black hair was very similar to Luffy's if not being a little wavier and he had a dusting of freckles across his cheeks.

Regardless of his expression Luffy knew that Ace cared about him, he was probably more worried than angry. His older brother had always been like that but he didn't mind a bit. Ace just wasn't good at showing affection. So instead of getting angry Luffy just grinned and hopped to his feet. "Sorry, Ace. I was-"

"Oh, Luffy, you're back! Where have you been? We were worried." A new voice cut him off. The youngest looked over at Sabo, his other brother. Sabo wore a blue T-shirt and dark coloured shorts in place of his regular tail coat and he didn't have his top hat on, revealing a full head of curly blonde hair.

Sabo's blue eyes reminded Luffy of Sora's and he jumped toward his brother. "Sabo! Guess wha-"

"I wasn't worried." Ace interrupted, sounding appalled that his brother would even suggest such a thing.

Sabo rolled his eyes, clearly not believing him. "Sure you weren't."

"Whatever. Where are the supplies Luffy?" Ace asked, thinking that the boy was too weak to carry them up the ladder by himself and had left them bellow the hideout.

Luffy, seeing this as an opportunity to finally tell them about his day, grinned. "I didn't get them but I-"

Ace groaned and Sabo sighed. "We needed to fix the hole in our roof from the last storm."

With a shake of his head Ace started rolling out their beds after a quick look at the sky from the window. "We'll all go and get them tomorrow, we should get some rest."

Before Luffy knew it both his brothers were fast asleep. He stood there dejectedly for a moment. He was a bit sad that he didn't get to tell them about the crocodile or Sora but he knew Ace and Sabo had had a long day. The Bluejam Pirates had been giving them problems lately and his brothers were constantly out fixing or improving traps. They hadn't meant to ignore him, they were just tired.

So Luffy laid down and shut his eyes, vowing to tell them another time. He slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking about all the fun he and Sora would have the next day.

%##%

Just after Sora and Luffy parted ways, Sora had gotten herself lost. Which wasn't a hard thing to do in a forest you've never been in before. Besides, her brother had always been the one to excel in navigation. Now that she was alone, the forest was looking a little less happy then it had before. Without her friend here it felt foreign and dark and scary.

Sora really didn't have a plan of action. She just knew that she needed a safe place to sleep. Somewhere where she didn't have to worry about being eaten by one of the unnaturally large creatures she'd seen.

It took her about an hour to actually find something that could provide some shelter. It was a good sized cave that was sitting on an overhang on a cliff wall. It was over grown with vines and moss and after a thorough check she found it was void of life.

Sora hummed and inspected her new home. Looking at the moss and vines she grinned coming up with an idea.

Gathering as many good, strong vines as she could find, Sora sat down and set to work on weaving them together.

There were a lot of days at her old home when she would steal a book or two from the servants. She also had a habit of taking materials so she could attempt what the books were explaining. The blonde had learned many useful things from those books then she ever had from the ones she was made to study. Sora could now sew, weave, do basic first aid and even tie a numerous amount of knots.

When Sora was finished with the vines she took the two ends of the finished project and scanned the ceiling. She grinned when she saw a rock jutting out and she jumped, trying to get the vine she was holding to rap around it. It was troublesome being short. She finally managed to get it latched on by jumping and tossing it up. A quick tug proved that it was sturdy and she grabbed the other end, finding a similar rock nearby.

When she hung up the other end, Sora stood back. She gave her make shift hammock a calculating glare before smiling and mentally giving herself a pat on the back for a job well done. There was only one last touch she wanted to add.

She walked around the cave, ripping up the moss that covered the floor and dropping it into the hammock. When she laid down it was soft and comfortable.

She lay there and looked at the darkness around her. Now that she had nothing to occupy her mind with, loneliness was settling in again. She rolled onto her side, causing the bed to sway in a calming lull. Sora forced her eyes closed and she thought about the day's events.

She thought about Luffy and his big happy smile.

Suddenly, it didn't seem so dark anymore.

**Man I hate writing short chapters... You guys probably hate it as well. Next one will be a lot longer, I promise. **

**Alright so, here's something completely off topic. You may or may not know (or care) that I'm Canadian. Well I have this book called 'Only in Canada, You Say' and it's basically a dictionary of words that are common in Canada. A lot of the words I'm so used to hearing that it was hard to believe that we only use them in Canada, so I wanted to see if it was true. Below is a list of words that are basically everyday things that Canadians hear or say. If you're in the mood, leave a review with the words you know or think you may know the meanings too. This really doesn't have a purpose, I'm just curious:) So here we go:**

**Butter Tart**

**Inukshuk**

**Double-double**

**Blue box**

**Poutine**

**RCMP (Mountie)**

**Jumpsies**

**Nicky Nicky Nine Door**

**Two-Four**

**Peameal Bacon**

**There! Okay so, let's see if this book is accurate. People in the U.S. that are closer to the border are likely to know most of these or even people who've visited Canada. Canadians can review too of course but you'll most likely know them all. Anyway, it's just for fun so even if you don't know take a wild guess! If people are actually interest I'll put the definitions in the next chapter. But anyway sorry again for the short chapter!**

**See ya!**


	3. Captain

**Happy Canada Day! Okay so, here's a ****regular length chapter. I have to be honest, this just started off as a random idea so I have no clue as to where this story will end up. I do know that if people like it enough, I'll eventually get to the canon adventures and stuff. I don't know if I should show the whole 'Grey Terminal Fire' part or if I should just graze over it to give people the idea of it... Well let me know if you think I should do the whole childhood or if I should just mention it vaguely and get right in to the actual episodes, what do the readers prefer?**

**Anyway, enough with my blabbing, enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Captain

Luffy was up the next day, bright and early. He figured that if he and his brothers finished gathering supplies quickly he could meet up with Sora sooner, despite knowing he had to wait until noon. Either way, his brothers certainly didn't share his excitement at being woken up so early.

Ace and Sabo trudged behind an energetic Luffy. Normally this wouldn't be odd for the trio. However, Luffy was never _this _energetic in the morning. Well, not until they mentioned breakfast at least.

The youngest boy was practically bouncing off the trees like the rubber he was. Luffy would constantly stop and inspect beetles thoroughly before deeming them unfit for whatever purpose he had in mind and letting the creature scurry off.

Sabo and Ace traded a look. "Did you give him any sugar?" Sabo asked watching Luffy trip over a root, face plant and then get up like nothing had happened.

Ace shook his head. "No… Did you?"

"No."

"Then what the heck is he so excited about!" Ace asked frowning when his little brother almost got mauled by a snake.

Sabo shrugged. "Could it have something to do with yesterday? I mean, he was gone for hours."

Ace contemplated this. That could very well be the cause. But what could have happened in the few hours he was gone to make him this hyper today?

They reached the Grey Terminal in no time and the three brothers split up to look for decent pieces of wood. Luffy ran through the piles of trash, occasionally tripping but brushing it off. Despite the smell, Luffy enjoyed coming to the Grey Terminal. It always had a new adventure around every pile of garbage.

A few minutes later he had found a large amount of wooden planks that were in good enough shape to use and he couldn't hold any more. Luffy turned to head back and find his brothers when something caught in the corner of his eye. He turned in the mystery object's direction with a curious hum. Dropping the wood at his feet in favor of seeing what the shiny thing was, he carefully climbed over the trash to get to it.

The small object was half buried in discarded metal but Luffy was able to dislodge it and pull it free. He turned it over in his hands and grinned. The mystery object was a ring. The band was a shiny silver but was covered in grim, imbedded in the silver was a small blue gem that glistened in the rising sun. The blue was the same shade as Sora's eyes.

Luffy turned to ring over a few more times and he noticed that on the inside there were words engraved but they were packed with dirt and almost impossible to make out.

"Luffy! Come on! We're going now!"

The boy looked up at his brother's shout. Quickly he shoved the ring into the pocket of his shorts and gathered up the wood in his arms. "Coming!" He yelled running to where he had heard Sabo call from.

When he got back to them they all headed back to the hideout, Ace and Sabo glancing curious looks Luffy's way every so often.

%##%

When Sora woke up it was almost noon. This realization almost set her into a panic. She was worried that if she was late then Luffy would just leave, thinking she wasn't going to show up.

She also had no idea how to get back to the river bank.

So, despite her haste, Sora tried her hardest to retrace her steps from the night before and memorize the path back to her cave so she wouldn't get lost when it was time to come home.

Miraculously she made it back to the river with little problems but she was a bit disheartened to see that Luffy wasn't there. She leaned up against the rock she had sat on yesterday. She would wait for her friend.

%##%

Luffy groaned and tugged his thumb out from between his hammer and the wood where he missed the head of the nail for the seventh time. It was a good thing he was rubber. He looked over at his brothers. Ace was beside him also hammering a plank of wood to the roof, putting the finishing touches on the patch job. They had to make sure it wasn't going to leak during the next storm. Sabo was climbing up the ladder to the roof with a handful of more nails.

Luffy flopped on to his back, giving up on the stupid nail. It was really hot out today…

Ace rolled his eyes at his little brother. "Don't slack off now. We're almost done." He said, trying to encourage the boy to work a little longer.

Luffy ignored him and stared up at the sky through the branches of the tree. He looked at the sun and his eyes widened in shock. The straw hatted boy bolted up right with a cry of "I'm late!" The sudden movement startled Ace just when he went to pound in another hammer, causing him to miss and hit his hand. Unlike Luffy, he wasn't rubber and with a (not at all girly) yelp he pulled his hand up to mouth and blew on the bruising skin.

Ace glared at his panicking brother. "God Luffy! Wh—" But he didn't get to finish. Ace and Sabo watched in a comical horror as Luffy jumped off the hideouts roof. He apparently didn't want to wait for Sabo to get off the ladder. Ace scampered to the edge and looked down at the ground that was far beneath them. Sabo joined him, having forgotten the nails, more interested if his brother was alright.

They were both relieved to see Luffy get up off the forest floor and dust himself off before darting towards the forest. "O-Oi! Luffy! Where are you going!?" Sabo called.

Luffy turned around to grin at his brothers for a second. "I'm going to meet someone! I'll be back later!" And with that he disappeared into the foliage leaving behind two very bewildered brothers.

%##%

Sora jumped when Luffy came bursting through the trees and skidding to a stop. The boy was completely out of breath and he rested his hands on his knees trying to get oxygen. Sora grinned and hopped up off the rock very relieved that Luffy hadn't forgotten their meeting. She had been getting worried that he wouldn't show.

Luffy finally got control of his breathing and shot Sora a grin, unknowingly warming the girl's heart. "Hi Sora!"

Sora smiled happily and Luffy's own heart thumped loudly in his ears. He almost frowned at this but didn't want to worry his friend. Normally Luffy could easily recover from a run like that, so why was his heart still racing? "Hi Luffy!" He shook the thoughts from his head when he heard her voice. It didn't matter anyway.

"What do you want to do? We could play with bugs or we could go to this really cool waterfall or–" Luffy suddenly cut himself off, coming up with a perfect idea. "I know! We could go to Fushia Village!"

Sora tipped her head at the unfamiliar name. "Fushia? Where's that?"

Luffy grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of the little village. Sora walked in pace with them but neither considered releasing the others hand. "It's the village I grew up in. I want to introduce you to Makino and the Mayor!"

The girl smiled at the prospect of meeting new people. If they were friends of Luffy's then they must be nice! Luffy continued to talk about the village and some of the people there but Sora's mind started to wander. She glanced at the straw hat that sat on his head and without knowing, asked the million dollar question. "Where'd you get that hat Luffy?"

She had never seen a smile as bright as the one he now wore. It was almost blinding.

"I got it from Shanks!"

"Shanks? Who's that?"

"He's a pirate! I promised him that I would be the King of the Pirates and give this hat back when I gather a crew that will beat his." He touched the hat with a fondness that Sora couldn't comprehend. "It's my treasure."

"Sugoi…" Sora said in awe.

Luffy turned to her grinning. "Hey, you should join my crew Sora! You could be my first mate!" Sora's eyes widened in surprise at the invitation. She had never thought too much about pirates before. Of course, she would hear her parents calling them slim and despicable beings, and she would read stories about them from time to time. But that's all they were, stories. Sora came to a realization in that moment. She had been locked up in a world of rich and snobby people who only cared for themselves, she had been cut off from this world.

Now that she was here, holding hands with a boy she felt was her first and best friend, she realized that the world was so much bigger then she thought. There was so much adventure and freedom and excitement. She wanted to see it all. What better way to do that than as a pirate? The freest people on the ocean.

"Alright, Captain!" There was no hesitation and Luffy cheered thinking about how jealous his brothers were going to be now that he was actually a captain. Thinking about it now, he didn't want anyone but her to be his first mate.

They continued to talk animatedly about random things as they walked.

When they reached the edge of the village Luffy tugged her through the streets occasionally greeting people as they passed with fond smiles. Sora was trying to see everything. The peacefulness and the happy atmosphere was completely new to her and it amazed the girl to see people helping others and taking about their lives and just… being nice!

Before she knew it, Sora was pulled through swinging doors and into a cozy looking bar. There weren't many people here but the few that were talked happily or enjoyed some delicious looking food. The smell of the meals reminded Sora that she hadn't eaten anything today.

Behind the bar was a young woman with dark green hair covered by a bandanna and she wore and apron over her long skirt. She was smiling lightly as she put a clean glass away and picked up another one to dry. The woman looked up when Luffy and Sora approached the counter. Luffy instantly hopped up onto one of the bar stools and not really knowing what else to do, Sora followed his lead, taking a seat in the one beside him.

"Hello Luffy, who's this? A new friend?" The woman said kindly already moving to make the pair something to eat. Sora instantly liked her.

Luffy smiled in response. "Hi Makino! This is Sora, she's my best friend!"

Sora blushed lightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Makino. The barmaid put a plate of food in front of the two children. "Well, it's nice to meet you Sora. I'm Makino."

Sora smiled and looked down at her food. She tried to remember her manners and bowed her head slightly to the lady. "Thank you!" Before Makino could blink, half the food was already gone, having been swallowed in seemingly and instant. Makino laughed gently, she'd have to be prepared to feed two Luffy's now!

"Hey, Makino! Guess what!" Luffy called biting through a thick leg of meat. "Sora just joined my crew! I'm officially a captain now." Luffy laughed.

Makino smiled fondly at the boy, knowing how much he loved pirates. "Is that so? Well, as her captain you'll have to make sure she stays out of harm's way. It's a captain's job to protect his nakama." She said wisely.

Luffy stopped eating for a moment and seemed to consider this. It was true, he would have to be there for her. Luffy was used to being the one that needed protecting, which usually came from one of his brothers but now, he was like the older brother… no, that word didn't feel right… He couldn't imagine Sora being his sister but what else could she be?

He almost let out a groan, having added another thing on his list of stuff to think about.

With a firm nod Luffy determinedly stated "I'll protect her." With that he dove back into his meat, not noticing a knowing gleam in the eyes of a certain barmaid.

When they finished their meal, Sora and Luffy thanked Makino and bid their farewell's to the nice lady, promising to come back another day.

Luffy walked beside Sora down Fushia's streets, his hands behind his head casually. Just as he opened his mouth to ask what she wanted to do now but he was cut off by her gasp. Before he had the chance to react, the blonde had bolted ahead towards the docks.

With a confused shout, Luffy followed her. However, when she took a sharp right he realized it wasn't the docks she was running to.

It was the ocean.

Sora didn't stop running until her feet hit the sandy beach. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and shock.

Stretched out before her was water. Water as far as the eye could see. It was impossible to see where the water stopped and the sky began. The way it sparkled and moved in suck a motion it felt like it was alive. It was beautiful.

Luffy reached Sora, looking out at the waves of the ocean as well. He turned his head to look at her and was stunned to see that her eyes were the same colour as the mass of water stretched out before them. What worried him was that Sora was crying. He wasn't sure what to say, scared that he might make her more upset.

Sora turned to Luffy and without looking up at him, buried her face in his shoulder, fisting the front of his shirt in her hands. After a moment of debating whether or not her should hug her back she spoke. "Take me there." It was a quiet plea but he heard it loud and clear. "Take me to the ocean with you." Sora's voice cracked and she sniffled, the tears getting worse.

Needing no more persuasion Luffy hugged the girl back. "Of course I will! You're my nakama silly!"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Luffy and Sora sat on the beach for the rest of the day. Luffy had asked Sora why she had been crying and she told him that she had never seen the ocean before. Luffy was shocked at this, it was almost impossible not to be able to see he ocean!

"Well," Sora corrected. "I've seen it but only from my home in High Town, it was really far away and small. But here… it's so big!"

Luffy blinked at his crewmate. "You live in High Town?"

"Not anymore, I ran away."

Luffy could understand that. The people of High Town were selfish, and Sabo had run away as well so it wasn't too much of a shock.

"Hey, want me to show you how to make a sand castle?" Luffy asked, already starting to pile up some of the sand.

Sora grinned. "Yeah!"

They played until the sun touched the ocean.

**Well there you have it! Oh and before I forget, here are the definitions for the Canadian words thing last chapter:**

**Butter Tart - a tart with a filling of butter, eggs, brown sugar and usually raisins.**

**Inukshuk - a figure of a human made of stones, originally used by the Inuit to scare caribou into an ambush, and as a marker to guide ****travellers, now also found as decorative sculptures in Southern Canada.**

**Double-Double - a cup of coffee with a double serving of both sugar and cream. (Seriously, if you walk into any coffee shop here and ask for a Double-Double they'll know what you mean.)**

**Blue Box - a blue plastic box used for the collection of recyclable household materials. (Probably called a recycling bin everywhere else.)**

**Poutine - a dish of french fries topped with cheese curds and sauce, usually gravy. (I freaking love this ^-^)**

**RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada's national police force. (These aren't the guys who are going to arrest you in town or anything. We have regular police as well, but the RCMP works on a federal level. They're kind of like the FBI of Canada.)**

**Jumpsies - its a game. Think of it like Limbo with a skipping rope, except instead of going under the rope you have to jump over it and it progressively gets higher and higher. It's really fun unless you miss...**

**Nicky Nicky Nine Door - a children's game involving knocking on a door or ringing a doorbell and running away before the door is answered.**

**Two-Four - refers to a 24 case of beer. **

**Peameal Bacon - back bacon rolled in a coating of fine cornmeal. (SO GOOD! Now I'm craving it...)**

**Well there you have it, a little taste of Canada! Anyway, I'm really trying to fight through my writers block. I'm half way through the next chapter for Falling Into Place. I promise it'll be up by the end of the week!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Until next time~**


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